SUNSET REGION: Gorman returns to form in finals sweep of Palo Verde

Bishop Gorman needed four games to defeat Shadow Ridge and then five to outlast Centennial in its first two Sunset Region playoff games.

At that rate, the Gaels should have been in for another long shift against Northwest League top-seed Palo Verde in Friday’s region title match at Silverado.

Instead, Bishop Gorman (26-3) showed the form that produced an undefeated run through the Southwest League, rolling past the Panthers, 25-22, 25-13, 25-22 to claim the Sunset championship and an automatic berth into next week’s Class 4A state tournament at Silverado.

Gaels coach Ed Van Meetren feels his team is improving right now, but couldn’t explain the sweep after two long matches.

“I wish I knew,” Van Meetren said. “We seem to be on a pretty good roll right now. We’re playing with a lot of intensity and we’re committing less and less errors.”

Palo Verde (31-7) gets one more shot to keep its season going in Monday’s play-in game against Silverado, the surprise runner-up from the Sunrise Region. The winner of that game gets the fourth-and-final berth. If Palo Verde wins, Gorman will face the Northern champion in the semifinals; if the Skyhawks win, the Gaels will face them.

After a back-and-forth opening game, Gorman dominated play in the second.

The Gaels did a little bit of everything, defending well against Joanna Sisovic and the Palo Verde offense while generating plenty of hitting from Liz Manthei and Kylie Shaw. The Gaels won the match on a disputed block touch call on a Manthei swing that went long.
Van Meetren commended both Manthei and Shaw for leading the way on offense.

“They were fearless,” the Gaels’ coach said. “They were just going up there and hacking away.”

Manthei finished with 14 kills and 14 digs, while Shaw recorded 14 kills and 12 digs. Kylee Chun tallied 26 assists, and Shelby Devlin notched six blocks and six kills. Brooke McKenna totaled 22 digs, and Michaela Alcott recorded five blocks.

“We’re a pretty balanced team,” Van Meetren said. “That really helps us out.”